Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Thursday, September 30th, is the opening reception for the exhibit at Warburg. It was an interesting experience picking out work for this particular show in that it is not in a traditional gallery space. I looked through the racks in the studio and when I saw this painting I knew I wanted to include it. Many of my paintings evoke a memory for me, and often for others who love this city and have either grown up here or have been transplanted and subsequently smitten.

I created this painting back in the 1980's and remember the day I took the photograph that was the inspiration for it. When my parents were alive, they used to enjoy spending a Sunday afternoon on the Lower East Side. We'd eat lunch at Ratner's or Katz's and then stroll and shop in the stores along Orchard Street and the surrounding streets. We were walking around one late afternoon in the winter (we would go in all seasons) and my eye caught this window of a tenement with the winter sunlight catching some of the faded architectural details. As one's sense of smell can often evoke a long-ago moment or memory, so too can a painting. This one brought back a happy memory of a day spent with family in the city I love best.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Getting ready for two shows simultaneously is a challenge, but so far things are moving along. I paid another visit to the Tribeca office of Warburg Realty on Monday and delivered 3 more paintings as there were still some walls that needed work. One of the paintings I selected to exhibit is "The White Restaurant", a painting of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame restaurant also on Hudson Street just up the road apiece in the West Village, north of the Warburg office. This exhibit has been fun in that I've been able to put together an eclectic mix of work from different times in my painting career, unlike the upcoming "Triple Play" exhibit in October/November where I will be showing all new work created specifically around the theme of the Flatiron and Gramercy Park districts.

The shelves in my studio will have plenty of gaps as the work from this summer's PikNik exhibit on Martha's Vineyard is still out of the studio as well. Some paintings have sold, some will be returned, but for now I'm enjoying the space on the shelves and wouldn't be at all unhappy if a lot of the paintings found new homes and I could use the shelf space for new work. An artist can dream...

To read an article appearing in CityBiz List online about the Warburg exhibit click here.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Card for exhibit with images of paintings "The Cable Building" and "G.E."

It has been a busy time as I am gearing up for two exhibits this Fall. Today I installed 18 pieces in the Tribeca office of Warburg Realty Partnership Ltd. The artwork is scattered around the space, some on large walls and others tucked away in nooks and crannies. A business involved with New York buildings seemed like a good match for my work. I picked out an interesting selection of artwork, some old, some new. I actually had a painting that had been done a number of years ago of a building located around the corner from the office which I dusted off and hung.

The New York Mercantile Exchange Building, a real beauty, sits just across the street from the office. I had painted and sold the painting I had done of that building awhile back so I made an inkjet print and hung that as well.

Inkjet print from my painting "New York Mercantile"

The exhibit will be on view through December so if you find yourself in the neighborhood, drop in and take a peek. The office is located at 100 Hudson Street, corner of Leonard.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

A Vanishing New York"Gordon's Reflections"Oil on canvas12 x 9 inchesSold

This painting, "Gordon's Reflections" was done several years ago. I caught the reflection of the novelty store in the windows of Just Bulbs, a store across the street. Both stores have "vanished" from the neighborhood. Gordon's has been boarded up and Just Bulbs left the area several years ago.

A blog I follow, "Jeremiahs' Vanishing New York", has recently written about Gordon's and the novelty businesses that have disappeared from the Flatiron district. I sometimes share my paintings with other blogger's when they write about a place that I have painted. Such was the case with "Gordon's Reflections".

One of the upsides of blogging is that I have found other like-minded individuals with interests common to my own, blogging merrily away. Being a painter of the New York urban landscape and capturing the sights before they vanish has been an enduring theme in my work. There are several others who are trying to capture and share their thoughts on a city that they once knew and Jeremiah's Vanishing New York is one.

About Me

A born and raised New Yorker, I have been painting the urban landscape for the past 40+ years, with a real fascination and affection for the architecture of this great city. My work captures "what is here today that might be gone tomorrow". I created this blog to share info about my paintings and it is a "work in progress" evolving over time.
I will also be adding links to other artist blogs and those that focus on New York.
If you have any questions about the paintings, please contact me at SJFStudio@aol.com. You can see more samples of my work at my website www.sharonflorinart.com.
Thanks for visiting!